Joker, the latest standalone move from DC Films, accomplished two huge things: it became the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time, and it cleansed our memories of Jared Leto’s take on the Joker. I personally enjoyed the movie (not in a happy way, because it’s a downer plot), but something felt off about the experience. The reason became clearer the more I thought about the movie’s story, and realized that while Joker succeeds as a character study and comic book movie, it ultimately fails to explain why it had to be specifically about the Joker in the first place (besides getting more people to watch). The fact that it’s a standalone film saves the movie, as it would be nearly impossible to connect this to any future Batman projects for the reasons (and SPOILERS) below.
Joker Isn’t a Mastermind
Let’s start with the obvious point- Arthur Fleck is a messed-up guy who shoots people in a clown suit, but that’s about as close as he gets to any prior versions of the Joker. He suffers from unexplained mental handicaps that mostly seem to make him laugh uncontrollably and barely function in social situations. After he’s given up his medications and fully embraced his killer clown side, both of these traits are still his defining features (besides the makeup). This Joker could never actually lead henchman in a years-long war against Gotham. Heck, this guy wouldn’t even be able to plan a successful bank robbery. He’s an abused, disturbed survivor, not a mastermind who could go toe-to-toe with Batman, physically or mentally.
His ambitions also aren’t grand, like being an agent of chaos in The Dark Knight, or poisoning all of Gotham, or even becoming an awful tattooed abomination like in Suicide Squad (nope, still not lettimg that go). His entire motivation as Joker is killing three people who have wronged him (his mom, coworker, and Murray). Unlike Heath Ledger’s or Jack Nicholson’s Jokers, every action is reactionary. The scenes right after the car crash are also ambiguously presented, so it’s possible he went straight to Arkham after the televised murder. Either way, his “followers” were already rioting on the street before they could have seen Arthur’s speech on Murray’s show, further removing him from any sort of leadership role.
Thomas Wayne Is a Jerk
The other rain cloud over the parade comes from the film’s depiction of Thomas Wayne (Brett Cullen, who also played a jerk in Dark Knight Rises). Even if you don’t believe that he was Arthur’s father, Thomas Wayne is a rich, privileged a-hole who cartoonishly calls poor people “clowns,” and refuses to back down later. Arthur Fleck may be an unreliable narrator, but Thomas Wayne’s words are his own. Also, whether or not he actually was romantically involved with Arthur’s mom Penny, he (and Alfred) unquestionably knew and remembered who she was, and would have been actively ignoring a former worker’s repeated pitiful cries for help- help that would have been pennies for someone like the Waynes.
Put simply, Batman doesn’t work if his father is a dirtbag. The entire motivation for Batman is struggling to maintain the Wayne legacy of helping, even saving, Gotham. He has to see his parents on a pedestal as martyrs who gave everything. If they’re nothing but cold, selfish jerks who lived off the downtrodden, then there’s no catalyst for Bruce to become a hero, which is a shame, because this movie really could have used a hero, somewhere.
Jason Talks Movies 